Antarctic Environments Portal & APECS Workshop at 2014 SCAR OSC

Deadline for applications is Monday 30 June 2014

For any further questions and enquiries, please contact either Jana Newman (j.newman@antarcticanz.govt.nz) or Sira Engelbertz (sira.engelbertz@pg.canterbury.ac.nz).

The Antarctic Environments Portal (Portal) project and APECS will jointly convene a workshop for Early Career Scientists (ECSs) at the upcoming SCAR Open Science Conference (OSC) in Auckland, New Zealand. This workshop is a great opportunity for ECSs to be involved in the development of a potentially significant tool to link Antarctic science and Antarctic policy. The workshop is open to 25 ECS applicants who will also receive a NZ$ 50 grant each as contribution towards their expenses. Funding for the workshop is kindly provided by the Norwegian Government.
Date: Thursday 28 August 2014; Time: 18:00 – 20:00
Location: Auckland Room 3, SkyCity Convention Centre, 88 Federal Street, Auckland, New Zealand
Focus Group: Early Career Scientists, Limit of Participants: 25
Cost: Free + catering will be provided

Apply by 30 June 2014 and join the workshop to not just learn more about the Portal but exchange your views with our five mentors from the Portal project team and Steering Committee:
– Birgit Njåstad, Norwegian Polar Institute, Norway
– Prof. Steven Chown, Monash University, Australia
– Dr. Neil Gilbert, Constantia Consulting, New Zealand
– Dr. Fraser Morgan, Landcare Research, New Zealand
– Prof. David Walton, British Antarctic Survey (Emeritus Fellow), United Kingdom

WHAT IS THE PORTAL?

The Portal (https://environments.aq/) is a project to link the growing body of scientific research on Antarctica with the governance work of the Antarctic Treaty System, in particular through the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP). The Portal is an online platform including summaries of the state of knowledge on CEP priority issues, the management of those issues and environmental pressures. Information in the Portal is based on peer-reviewed science and existing CEP materials. The content is intended to be non-technical and a-political. It is subject to a robust editorial process.

The current management of the Antarctic Environments Portal is provided by Antarctica New Zealand, the technical design and development is currently provided by Landcare Research New Zealand. Partner organisations are: SCAR, the Australian Antarctic Division, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, the Norwegian Polar Institute and the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium. A steering group comprised of scientists, policy and technical experts and a SCAR representative provide leadership, oversight and expert guidance to the Project Manager.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE PORTAL & APECS WORKSHOP?

The Portal is an exciting initiative at the interface of Antarctic science and policy. A beta or demonstration version of the Portal was recently demonstrated at the meeting of the Antarctic Treaty System’s meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection, and it was very well received The Portal is still under development and will be fully functional by June 2015. The objective of the Portal & APECS workshop is to seek the views of emerging science and policy leaders on the project and on making the Portal user-friendly. This feedback in the development phase will be instrumental to the project’s success.

HOW TO APPLY FOR THE WORKSHOP AND SPONSORSHIP?

Interested ECSs can apply by sending an expression of interest including brief self-introduction and academic background as well as motivation to attend the workshop to Jana Newman (j.newman@antarcticanz.govt.nz). The application for the workshop will include the consideration for the NZ$ 50 grant for participants. No separate application for sponsorship is necessary. Deadline for applications is Monday 30 June 2014.

For any further questions and enquiries, please contact either Jana Newman (j.newman@antarcticanz.govt.nz) or Sira Engelbertz (sira.engelbertz@pg.canterbury.ac.nz).